5. Listening and speaking to Jesus can be easier and more personal than with God the Father.
(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)
Have you experienced the statement above to be true?
When Jesus invited His disciples (and by extension, us) to “abide in me,” what did He mean by abide (see John 15:4)? What was Jesus describing? How would abiding affect our conversations with God?
At the end of His time on earth, Jesus told His disciples that He considered them as His friends. What kind of conversation is available for us with Jesus when He is our friend?
As followers of Jesus, we know that God, because of His great love for us, sent His Son into our world so that we would not perish but instead would receive eternal life. We also know that we receive this eternal life though Jesus’ death and resurrection.
God’s purpose in sending his Son, Jesus, included much more than simply getting us into heaven. As a human, like us, Jesus is a person we can relate to. He has a face. There are stories that help us imagine what kind of a person He was. His life on earth, His teachings, and stories from and about His followers give us a picture of who He was.
These help us to imagine Jesus as a person, as the “human face of God.” They enable us to see Him as someone with whom we can talk, listen, and develop a relationship. Jesus, then, is God’s gift to us, not only for our salvation, but also to facilitate and provide the way for us participate in a loving relationship with God.
I find it easier to communicate with Jesus because He is more like me. This may not be true for everyone, but I do believe that Jesus’ humanity is a great gift in helping us learn to hear God the Father, to communicate with Him, and to participate in a growing relationship with Him.
It’s not that Jesus takes the place of God the Father in our relationship; rather, Jesus introduces us to the Father and encourages our relationship with Him.